Also known as: families · household · kin
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A group of persons connected by blood, marriage, adoption, or intimate association that the law recognizes.
Floyd Franklin offers a statement from his late aunt describing his parents' marriage date to prove heirship in probate. The court admits the statement even though the aunt lacked personal knowledge of the wedding. The evidence establishes Floyd's status under the family-history exception.
Judge Frank Fisher learns his adult son living at home owns stock in a defendant corporation. The judge discloses the holding and steps aside from the case. The disclosure prevents any appearance that family financial ties could affect the outcome.
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Fernando Farrell lived with his son for five years before the mother's death. The state removes the child without a hearing. The court orders a fitness hearing because the stable family unit receives constitutional protection.
Francesca Fowler petitions to modify custody after her daughter has lived with her for two years with the other parent's consent. The court grants the modification because the child has become integrated into Francesca's household.
Fatou Fall signs a premarital agreement waiving rights to homestead allowance and family allowance. After her spouse's death the court enforces the waiver. The written agreement bars her later claim for those statutory benefits.
Fiona Foster obtains a child-support order in State A. State B later issues a conflicting order. State A retains enforcement authority because its order was never modified by another tribunal under the act.
The exception admits statements concerning birth, marriage, divorce, or similar facts of personal or family history even if the declarant had no way of acquiring personal knowledge. The rationale rests on the likelihood that family reputation over time supplies reliable information.
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Recusal is required when the judge knows that the judge's spouse, domestic partner, parent, child, or any other family member residing in the household has an economic interest in the subject matter or a party. The rule prevents any appearance that family financial ties could influence judicial conduct.
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Yes. Due process protects the custodial interests of an unmarried father who has formed a stable family unit with his child. The state cannot sever that relationship without a fair process to determine parental fitness.
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A court may modify a prior custody decree when the child has been integrated into the family of the petitioner with the consent of the custodian. The integration must be shown by facts arising after the original decree.
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Yes. The right to family allowance may be waived only by a written agreement signed by the surviving spouse before or after marriage. The agreement is enforceable without consideration.
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…one's experiences, one's exposure to the raw edges of human existence, one's religious training, one's attitudes toward life and family and their values, and the moral standards one establishes and seeks to observe, are all likely to influence and to color one's thinking and conclusions about abortion. In addition, the…